Towards sustainable development: understanding resilience capacity and well-being of rural households in the Dabie Mountainous Area, China

Enhancing vulnerable people’s resilience capacity and well-being, particularly in light of increasing exposure to multiple stressors and shocks, is crucial for realizing Sustainable Development Goal 1.5. However, empirical research that investigates how exposure to stressors and shocks, and resilience capacity impact rural households’ well-being in mountainous areas is rare. The study examines the resilience capabilities of rural households in the Dabie Mountainous Area of China using a sample of 522 households collected in 2022. It further investigates the influence of shock exposure and resilience capacity on household well-being through regression analysis. Additionally, the study delves into the heterogeneity in shock exposure and resilience capacity, and their influence on the well-being of household with varied livelihood sources. The findings reveal that: (1) The overall resilience capacity score is primarily skewed towards lower values. Among its three pillars, adaptive capacity scores the highest, followed by transformative capacity, while absorptive capacity scores the lowest. (2) Stressors and shocks negatively affect household well-being. Specifically, the adverse effect of health shock on well-being is statistically significant. (3) Resilience capacity positively affects household well-being. Among its three pillars, the impact of absorptive and transformative capacities on household well-being is significantly positive. (4) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that stressors and shocks exert statistically significant negative impacts on well-being in Groups 2 and 4. For households with five distinct livelihood sources, the enhancement of resilience capacity has exerted statistically significant positive impacts on household well-being. Notably, compared to Groups 3 and 4, the improvement in well-being resulting from the enhancement of resilience capacity is considerably more pronounced in Group 2. These findings provide valuable insights for sustaining households’ resilience capacities and well-being in mountainous areas.